Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”
But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the LORD.”
Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.” “Yes, we are witnesses, ” they replied.
“Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” - Joshua 24:19-21 NIV
I once had a friend who gave away all of his earthly possessions. He lived in a studio apartment with only his clothes which he kept in a cardboard Box and a few books. He was trying to live a godly life and didn't want to be distracted by worldly possessions, much like the early monks who escaped to their caves.
I look around at all of our possessions and think perhaps that is the way to go; that giving up all but the most essential earthly goods is the only way to not slowly succumb to other gods. The Israelites must have learned that during their years of wandering. It's hard, and unwise, to accumulate very much when you may have to pack up and move at any minute. Any of us who have moved a lot know how beneficial and easy it is to get rid of things in anticipation of having to move them. It is only when we get settled that things start piling up around us and eventually, just like the children of Israel, we start putting more faith in what we own than in the one who owns us.
Perhaps it is time for us to pare down our possessions, to throw away our foreign gods.
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